ArticleFrontiers in medicine2026
Triple-modality diagnosis of paucibacillary pulmonary tuberculosis: comparative accuracy of GeneXpert MTB/RIF, TB-DNA PCR, and T-SPOT.TB.
Article in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Paucibacillary pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is diagnostically challenging because molecular assays are inherently insensitive at sub-threshold bacillary loads. The incremental value of T-SPOT.TB-a host immune-response assay (an ELISPOT-based interferon-γ release assay, IGRA)-combined with molecular testing in this setting is not well established. Methods: In this single-center, STARD 2015-compliant prospective diagnostic-accuracy study at a regional general hospital (January 2021-December 2023), adults with suspected smear-negative PTB underwent simultaneous GeneXpert MTB/RIF, in-house IS6110 TB-DNA real-time PCR, and T-SPOT.TB. Each participant was classified as PTB or non-PTB by a blinded three-member panel using a reference standard with two PTB-confirmation routes-microbiological (positive mycobacterial culture) or clinical (compatible clinicoradiological presentation plus documented response to standard anti-TB therapy at 6 months); participants meeting neither route were non-PTB. Performance was quantified by sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios, and balanced accuracy ([sensitivity + specificity]/2). Paired comparisons used the McNemar exact test with Bonferroni correction. No a priori sample-size calculation was performed; analyses are exploratory. Results: Among 78 participants [PTB Conclusion: In this exploratory single-center cohort, T-SPOT.TB contributed unique diagnostic information (47.7% exclusive detection) not captured by molecular assays. TB-DNA PCR + T-SPOT.TB showed the highest observed balanced accuracy, but, given the single-center design and absence of a priori powering, this is hypothesis-generating and requires confirmation in adequately powered, multicenter studies before any clinical recommendation. Where available, Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra is the preferred first-line molecular assay and should be prioritized, in combination with T-SPOT.TB, in future prospective evaluation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.